Latin America

• Monday, October 8th 2012 - 06:34 UTC

  Paraguay expects to be back in Mercosur “sooner than later”: before April 2013

  

  President Federio Franco said he trusted Paraguay would be fully re-incorporated to Mercosur before the general election scheduled for 21 April 2013. Paraguay is currently suspended from the trade block following the removal of Fernando Lugo as president, a decision voted almost unanimously by the country’s Senate but condemned by Mercosur and Unasur.

• Monday, October 8th 2012 - 05:44 UTC

  Chavez wins another six years; massive 81% turnout of registered voters

  

  President Hugo Chavez won re-election on Sunday, defeating challenger Henrique Capriles, Venezuela's electoral council said. With most votes counted, Chavez had more than 54% of the vote, and Capriles had 45%, National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena said. Turnout was 81% of the nearly 19 million registered voters.

• Saturday, October 6th 2012 - 15:16 UTC

  IMF cuts global growth estimates; calls for clear political leadership to restore confidence

  

  The IMF has cut its global growth forecasts for this year and 2013 and called on politicians in the Euro-zone and the US to take “decisive” steps to restore confidence, a German newspaper said Friday.

• Saturday, October 6th 2012 - 15:09 UTC

  Borders and Coast Guards in conflict won’t yield; government looks for scapegoats

  

  Argentina’s Security Ministry decided the intervention of the Border Guards’ Department of Judicial Affairs due to “severe deficiencies” found in the application of the officers' “wage demands”, which led to the current situation that on Friday night was beginning its fifth consecutive day of conflict.

• Saturday, October 6th 2012 - 15:06 UTC

  Brazil wants Paraguay back in Mercosur following “democracy compliance” test

  

  Brazilian Foreign minister Antonio Patriota said on Friday that Paraguay could resume membership of Mercosur and Unasur without the need to wait for presidential elections next April 2013 as long as “full compliance with democracy” can be verified.

• Saturday, October 6th 2012 - 14:58 UTC

  Cuban dissident freed; court asks seven years for Spanish youth activist

  

  Cuban authorities released prominent dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez late on Friday after detaining her on the eve of a Spanish activist's high-profile manslaughter trial in the eastern city of Bayamo.

• Friday, October 5th 2012 - 22:41 UTC

  Pentagon chief flies to Uruguay for Defence Ministers of the Americas conference

  

  United States Defence Secretary Leon Panetta starts on Friday a week-long trip to Peru and Uruguay where he will attend the Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas, the Pentagon announced on Thursday.

• Friday, October 5th 2012 - 20:38 UTC

  Cuban prominent blogger detained in Cuba ahead of trial involving Spanish politician

  

  Cuba was reported to have arrested prominent blogger Yoani Sanchez Friday in a crackdown on dissidents as the vehicular manslaughter trial of a Spanish politician got under way here. Angel Carromero, 27 who runs the youth wing of Spain’s ruling Popular Party went on trial for the death of a prominent dissident, Oswaldo Paya, in a car crash near this town in eastern Cuba.

• Friday, October 5th 2012 - 20:15 UTC

  Southern Europeans flocking to Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico

  

  A European Union (EU)-funded IOM study released on Friday on migratory flows in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and between LAC and the EU, shows a marked increase in migration from the EU to LAC and a marked decrease in the number of LAC migrants entering the EU.

• Friday, October 5th 2012 - 19:57 UTC

  Capriles claims Chavez ‘handed out’ 9 billion dollars to Mercosur allies

  

  Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles claims that the regime of President Hugo Chavez handed out nine billion dollars to Mercosur members (except for Brazil and Chile) as part of his plan to “export the Bolivarian revolution”.